Spiced Cut Out Gingerbread Cookies

While these spiced gingerbread cookie are baking in the oven, your kitchen will fill with the warm and inviting scents of the holiday season. I love this recipe not only for its delicious flavor, but because the dough rolls out easily and the cut outs keep their shape while baking. Bake your cookies a few minutes less for a chewier texture or a few minutes more for cookies with a little more crunch!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 13

Servings cookies

Calories 131 kcal

5 from 10 votes

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Equipment

1 Rolling Pin
2 to 4 Baking sheets, lined with parchment
Cookie cutters of choice

Ingredients

3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1¾ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (¾ cup plus 2 tbsp)
¾ cup molasses
2 tablespoon heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Recipe Royal Icing

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, beat brown sugar and butter at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Beat in molasses, cream, and vanilla until well combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
With the mixture on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the bowl, mixing until combined.
Turn dough out onto a work surface and divide it into three equal pieces. Shape each piece into a flat disk. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until cold, of for up to 3 days.
Preheat your oven to 350℉ / 180℃. Place the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds positions. Line 2-4 baking sheets with parchment paper (see Notes.)
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out one disk of dough to a thickness of ¼ inch (.5 cm.)
Using your cookie cutter of choice, cut out shapes and carefully transfer them to the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cut outs about 1-inch (2.5 cm) apart. Reroll scraps as necessary. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining disks of dough.
Bake cookies for 11 to 15 minutes, switching positions of the cookie sheets halfway through, until the tops are set and lightly browned. Bake cookies on the lower end of the baking time for chewier cookies and on the higher end for a crisper cookie.
Let cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely before decorating with my Royal Icing.

Notes

It's easier to bake these cookies using 4 cookies sheets, rather than 2. While the first batch of cookies is baking, you can roll and cut shapes for the second batch so that they are ready to bake as soon as the first batch is done.
Cookies will keep at room temperature, stored in an airtight container, anytime from 3 days to one week, depending on humidity in your kitchen.

Nutrition

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